I Was Kidnapped By The Strongest Guild
Chapter 434: The Next Generation's Kangjin-ho

Let's scare him away by looking frightening.

I neither approved nor disapproved of Levinas's decision.

Though I wasn't sure if her plan would work, she was trying to solve the problem herself.

Even if this plan failed, it would be a good learning experience for Levinas's growth.

"How do we look scary?"

"Like Gaeul puppy showed us earlier!"

"Ah, that."

We went home and got a large long coat.

I got under the coat with Levinas sitting on my shoulders.

This made Levinas as tall as an adult woman.

"How is it? Do I look scary?"

"Not scary, but really strong."

"I think it's a bit scary because you look like an adult."

"Shuin!"

Saebyeok, Bom, and Gaeul each had their own reactions.

Pleased with their responses, Levinas giggled.

"King, can you see in front?"

"Yeah. I'm fine even if I can't see ahead."

This wasn't just bravado.

By maximizing my beast-kin senses, I could perceive everything around me even without sight.

From people's footsteps to insects crawling.

The rustling leaves and wind impacts revealed where obstacles were.

My heightened senses could distinguish nearby objects just from the vibrations of footsteps.

Though I was doing it, it was truly amazing.

My abilities seemed to keep getting stronger - just how much could I grow?

While I was marveling at being able to see everything with my eyes closed, Levinas poked my head.

"King! He's over there!"

"Yes. I can sense him."

I could hear the boy's angry breathing.

His anger was aimed directly at us.

I walked slowly toward the boy.

From here on, I'd leave it to Levinas.

"Bad child! Levinas has come to fight!"

I waddled forward, carrying Levinas with just her face showing above the coat.

The boy's angry breathing stopped, perhaps startled by Levinas's giant form.

"...What's your deal."

"This is Levinas's thing! Um..."

Levinas trailed off.

Maybe we hadn't settled on a backstory.

I whispered quietly so only Levinas could hear.

"Battle form?"

"Right! This is Levinas's true form that only appears in battle! It's called battle form! How about it?! Pretty scary, right?!"

Grawr.

Levinas raised her arms threateningly.

But her innocent attempt at intimidation failed to frighten the boy.

"Are you chickening out?"

"Um, huh...?"

"I know you're just scared to fight."

"N-no... this is only when Levinas gets serious..."

"You think I can't tell there's someone inside?"

The boy approached us.

He raised his foot and-

Thwack-!

Kicked my shin hard.

"Ah!"

I couldn't help crying out at the sudden attack.

But the boy didn't stop there - he shoved me as hard as he could inside the coat.

"Wh-whoa!"

"Nyaak!"

Losing balance, my body fell backward.

Fortunately there was no impact.

Thanks to Saebyeok catching us.

"Grrrr."

Though Saebyeok bared her teeth, she didn't rush at the boy.

Thanks to the suggestion to let Levinas handle this herself.

"Uh, uwaah..."

Flutter flutter-

When Levinas waved her arms, our falling body righted itself like a roly-poly doll.

Thanks to Saebyeok pushing from behind.

Watching this, the boy let out a mocking laugh.

"Hey, just admit you're scared."

"What's scared mean...?"

"Being afraid."

"N-no... Levinas isn't scared... Levinas will really fight..."

After hesitating briefly, Levinas reached for the coat buttons.

She unfastened them with her small hands and jumped down from my shoulders.

"This was actually Levinas's mercy!"

"Mercy?"

"Yeah! If Levinas fought seriously you'd become jerky, so I was being nice!"

Ahem.

Watching Levinas puff out her chest, Gaeul made a heuk sound.

Even Bom gulped nervously.

"Hey, looks like the kids are fighting?"

"Shouldn't we stop them?"

People in the park had started gathering to watch, and a breeze scattered leaves between Levinas and the boy.

As a leaf rolled between them, Levinas furrowed her brows fiercely and stretched both hands forward.

'Is she really going to fight?'

Our Levinas?

Just as the tension peaked, Levinas started waving her outstretched arms loosely.

"Wooo~ Levinas is a ghost~"

Levinas's arms waved like she was doing the wave.

It seemed she was trying to scare him some other way rather than fighting.

Unfortunately, Levinas's strategy didn't work.

"Are you making fun of me...!"

When the boy raised his fist, Levinas flinched and stepped back.

Was he really going to hit her?

Just as I rushed to block Levinas, I spotted two children approaching behind the boy.

It was my young friends Kim Wooseong and Im Dahui.

Dahui flashed a smile and wrapped her arm around the boy's neck.

Then she started squeezing hard.

"Ack...! Ack...!"

The struggling boy soon went limp.

Dahui had taken down the boy who'd been giving Levinas trouble in one move.

"Did... did you kill him...?"

"No, just knocked him out for a bit. My dad taught me."

Learning how to knock people out from her dad.

I looked around in shock.

The park-goers watching just let out impressed "ooh"s.

That's when I realized.

People in this world barely reacted even to getting stabbed.

Was this level normal for kids fighting too?

Good thing we didn't let Levinas fight - that could have been bad.

Whew, as I sighed in relief I noticed Kim Wooseong frozen in place.

He looked quite frightened.

Perhaps choking someone unconscious wasn't exactly normal.

**

Lee Gunwoo, president of the Wizards Association, rushed to find Gyeoul right after his lecture ended.

He'd heard rumors that Gyeoul was looking for people to interact with the beast-kin village.

Even to Lee Gunwoo as the Wizards Association president, beast-kin magic was awe-inspiring.

A concealment magic that made tracking impossible for any mage.

Magic should leave traces of mana, yet no one could find even a hint.

'They said the beast-kin village mage wasn't overwhelmingly skilled.'

Their magical ability was similar to Jung Yu-na's level.

Yet they cast concealment magic that no one in the world could detect.

It must be magic unique to beast-kin.

As a wizard himself, Lee Gunwoo desperately wanted to see beast-kin magic with his own eyes.

It definitely had nothing to do with Jung Yu-na's smug "I've already seen it."

'They said she'd be in the park...'

Lee Gunwoo hurried toward the park.

He spotted the children near the pond.

"Goodbye both of you! Let's play again next time!"

"Yeah. Let's play again. Bye Bom."

"Bye...!"

The beast-kin children saying goodbye to their human friends.

But where was Gyeoul...

"Hm?"

Looking over the children, Lee Gunwoo noticed Gaeul in the coat was abnormally tall.

He'd wondered where Gyeoul went, but she was hiding there playing tricks.

Ahem.

Lee Gunwoo straightened his clothes then stopped as he approached the children.

'Should I play along?'

He wasn't very familiar with children's games.

But he wasn't so tactless as to ignore their play entirely.

After some thought, Lee Gunwoo decided to pretend not to notice.

"Hello there."

A light greeting first.

Though his sudden appearance should have startled them, the children just looked up at him with their characteristic bright eyes.

Except for the frightened beast-kin child he'd never seen before.

"Hi! Magic Boss!"

"Hello."

The elongated Gaeul waved.

Her short arms waving from the long body looked quite cute.

Thanks to Gyeoul under the coat.

"Would you happen to know where Gyeoul is?"

Lee Gunwoo carefully avoided looking under the coat as he spoke.

The children started giggling.

"King isn't here!"

"Shuin not here!"

Hee hee hee.

The children covered their mouths as they laughed.

Bom glanced around before smiling too, and even Saebyeok's tail swayed gently.

"That's too bad, I had something to discuss."

"Nn, Shuin here."

When Lee Gunwoo showed obvious disappointment, Gaeul started unfastening the coat buttons.

Was "Nn" meant to be "No, you're wrong" and "Shuin here" meant "She's here"?

As Lee Gunwoo decoded Gaeul's words, she dramatically opened the coat.

"Hello."

Gyeoul's bright eyes met Lee Gunwoo's.

They were the clearest, most innocent eyes he'd ever seen on a child.

"So here you were."

"Yeeees."

Gyeoul smiled broadly.

Lee Gunwoo knew this small child possessed incredible talent and influence.

She might even become the next Kang Jinho.

That's why he maintained politeness despite her being a child.

Though he was naturally polite to everyone anyway.

"Sorry for the suddenness, but I have a request."

"A request?"

"Yes. I'd really like to visit the beast-kin village - would that be possible?"

At Lee Gunwoo's request, Gyeoul's eyes instantly narrowed.

The sudden disappearance of innocence quite startled Lee Gunwoo.

"Well then..."

"...?"

"You'll need an interview."

At the word "interview," the children started bustling around.

They brought folding chairs and tables from somewhere, and wooden chairs too.

To think he'd end up having a serious interview with an eight-year-old.

Lee Gunwoo forcefully held back his rising smile.

After all, interviews should be taken seriously.